The Ontario government’s representative in Washington says U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threat to levy 50 per cent tariffs on hundreds of Canadian goods is an indication that the administration is taking notice of the effect Canada’s retaliatory trade action is having on the American economy.

Speaking to CBC’s Power & Politics, David Paterson pointed to a specific complaint laid out in the fact sheet announcing the tariffs: U.S. auto exports to Canada dropping 22 per cent since April of last year.

“That is an enormous shift of trade away from jobs in the United States to other places and that is part of the federal government’s retaliation,” Paterson told guest host Peter Armstrong.

“These things are now being noticed and to me that’s a starting point for a good discussion as they go forward.”

Canada still has retaliatory tariffs on U.S. cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum despite lifting a swath of other levies last summer.

The Trump administration also listed provincial bans on U.S. booze as a reason for the promised 50 per cent levies, which are slated to come into force on Aug. 19. U.S. spirit makers have said the ban has been “devastating” to their sales, while American wine sales in Canada plummeted $343 million US in 2025.

Ontario’s rep in D.C. says he is ‘relieved’ to see trade talks accelerated

With only 20 days remaining on the 50 per cent tariff clock, Canada’s minister responsible for U.S. trade returns from a trip to Washington, D.C., without any sign that a deal is on the horizon. Plus, the prime minister says he ‘doesn’t see the value’ in leveraging energy exports against the U.S. Power & Politics speaks with Ontario’s representative in Washington, David Paterson.

Paterson said while Canada’s retaliation has ruffled feathers in the Trump administration to the point that new tariffs are looming, it can be a “starting point” for productive trade talks currently underway.

“It’s actually a genuine frustration on the part of [U.S. Trade Representative] Jamieson Greer and others and this is an opportunity to actually say, ‘OK, well could we be partners?'” Paterson said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke with Trump last week after the latest tariff move was announced and said that the two leaders agreed to “intensify” trade talks.

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• Carney says he doesn’t ‘see the value’ in using energy as leverage in U.S. trade talks

Paterson said he’s noticed things pick up in Washington since then.

Carney met with the premiers last week to talk about the 50 per cent tariff threat and discuss possible ways to respond.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the prime minister said while the government is preparing for ways to respond if the tariffs come into force, he’s focused on “building towards an agreement” before Aug. 19.

Paterson echoed Carney’s argument.

“We’re now in a position where, in the most friendly nations on earth, we have the opportunity to try and calm this down,” he said.

Why does Trump keep attacking Canada?

From a trade war, to threats of becoming the 51st state, to delaying the opening of a cross-border bridge, U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly sets his sights on his northern neighbour. Power & Politics speaks to rhetoric and political communication professor Robert C. Rowland about Trump’s problem with Canada and the impact it could have on U.S. politics.

Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, was in Washington this week and met with Greer on Wednesday.

LeBlanc posted on social media that the meeting was “comprehensive” and the two “agreed to remain in close contact and continue working together.”

On Tuesday, two major unions wrote to Greer calling on the administration to hold off on the 50 per cent levies.

The international heads of the United Steelworkers and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers wrote that the Canada-U.S. trade relationship has been “marked by division” over the past year.

“Our priority must be to align our trade policies to address the challenges posed by unfair and predatory trade practices of countries like China, not to drive a further wedge between our nations,” the letter reads.